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Menander
Menander is the common name for the shamanism practiced by Enigma. A type of ritual magic, Menander, meaning “savior,” is a mixture of Native American customs as well as Buddhism and Hinduism. Menander is not generally well received as its tenants preach separation from The Machine until such a time comes that the practitioners can return whole to mankind as human beings and not abominations. Menander is one of the central mysteries of Enigma’s belief structure, as well as a potent weapon in the narot’s arsenal. As might be expected, knowledge of the Application is a closely guarded secret. New initiates are not usually trusted with its secrets. As a new member in a quasi-religious Nanon faction, a cyborg might well have to prove his loyalty to the Mystery through tests and ordeals before its adherents are willing to share their knowledge. Though cyborgs who leave Enigma for other covenants invariably take their knowledge with them, many find it all but impossible to increase their knowledge of Menander outside Enigma’s structure. A character must have at least one dot of Narot Status (Enigma) in order to learn Menander. A player who buys at least one dot worth of that Merit at character creation may spend one of his character’s three Application dots on Menander if he wishes. Any time a player wants to increase his character’s Menander score, the character must still have at least one dot of Narot Status (Enigma) to do so. Because of myriad cultural differences within Enigma, many rituals exist that approximate the following ones in effect if not in name. Thus, the level-one ritual Determined Soul may be known as the Patient Pursuit in Macon or the Consistent Call in Dothan. Other Cyborg books offer new Menander rituals, and players and Storytellers are encouraged to create their own using those presented here as models. Cost: Uses of Menander always cost at least one Willpower. Unless the text for a specific power (known as a ritual) specifies otherwise, assume that the cost is one Willpower. Willpower plays a very important role in the use of Menander — it represents the Nanon’s commitment to The Flesh (by abstaining from fueling the ritual with Nanos) and it is this commitment that fuels the supernatural effects. Use of Menander requires that the Willpower be “spent” in a visible or otherwise significant manner such as exhaustion or tolerance of pain. Additionally, Menander rituals require certain items to be used or consumed to activate the powers. These components are known as offerings. Practitioners believe that these items are offered in sacrifice to Nature, Spirits or to whomever, or whatever, provides the actual manifestation of the power. Attempts to invoke Menander without suitable offerings fail outright. Offerings are consumed upon the invocation of a ritual. Menander does not have the same linear progression that other Applications do. A character’s mastery dictates the highest level of rituals that he may learn. Rituals are bought with experience points. For example, a character with two dots of Menander can know an unlimited number of level-one and level-two rituals (provided the experience points to learn each of them are paid). He may not learn any level-three Menander rituals until his Menander dots increase to 3. Each time a character acquires a dot of Menander (including at character creation), he gains a ritual of that level at no additional cost. Draw: Presence + Occult + Menander. Action: Extended. The number of successes required to activate a ritual is equal to the level of the ritual (so a level three ritual requires three successes to enact). Each draw represents one turn of ritual casting. Note also that each point of damage suffered in a turn is a penalty to the next casting draw made for the character, in addition to any wound penalties that a caster might suffer. Costs to activate Menander rituals must be paid before the draw can be made. Normally this isn’t an issue, as a ritual that costs a single Willpower can have its activation roll made in the same turn (as spending Willpower is a reflexive action). If a character fails to complete the ritual in time (such as by being killed before accumulating enough successes) or decides to cancel the ritual before garnering enough successes to activate it, the effect simply fails. Any Willpower expenditures made are not recovered, however. Roll Results Failure: The ritual fails entirely, but not dangerously. Willpower is consumed as normal, but the ritual has no effect. Success: The ritual takes place as described. Unless specified otherwise, rituals last for the duration of a scene. Suggested Modifiers Modifier Situation — The character is unaffected by threats or distractions. -1 to -3 The character is rushed or distracted, such as by invoking a ritual in combat or while being harried by pursuers. This penalty is cumulative with multiple distractions (such as by casting a ritual in combat during a hurricane). Successes gained on a meditation roll for the night (see p. 51 of the World of Darkness Rulebook) offset interruption penalties on a one-for-one basis.